Stereotyping is a technique used often by storytellers as a shortcut. It can come in handy to quickly get across what a character is like. One of the most common Australian stereotypes out there in the world is that of the “Crikey” uttering, beer-loving, thong-wearing (thong in this case being the things worn on the feet, not the butt 🙂 ) bloke who calls all the women he meets “sheila”. Now, I grew up in rural Australia. To this day, I still use terms like “fair dinkum”, “crikey” and “g’day” in general conversation even though I’ve lived in the city for over twenty years. My husband, a city boy, quite often laughs at my country-ness. So yes, I can vouch for the fact the stereotype Australian man does exist…but he’s NOT the norm.
So why did I set out to write an Australian businessman sexier than sin and calmly confident in everything he does in THE STUBBORN BILLIONAIRE? Because this kind of Australian man also exists and I want the world to know it. He walks around Sydney and Melbourne, dressed in a killer suit, oozing sexual energy and never ever pulls out a knife to gloat how big it is. He drives a washed car, quite often an Audi or BMW, not a dust-covered pickup (what we call utes Down Under). His chin is clean-shaven and he rarely—if ever—says “crikey”. I’ve seen this variety of Australian man. I’ve drooled over him. He’s not a fantasy.
What other misconceptions about Australia are there, thanks to stereotyping? Let’s list some:
- Not all Australian men look like Chris Hemsworth (quite a few look like Hugh Jackmen, Eric Bana, Liam Hemsworth, or Geoffrey Rush 🙂 )
- Not every animal in Australia is out to kill you. We have a lot of utterly adorable, sweet, harmless creatures that are no more dangerous than a feather pillow. (But do watch out for the drop bears. Those bastards are nasty)
- Toilets don’t flush in reverse. Don’t believe The Simpsons. The water in our loos don’t swirl around in any kind of circular direction. It just rushes straight downward (on a side note, the water level in Aussie loos is very low.) (By the way, did you ever think you’d be learning about international toilets on Fresh Fiction?)
- Qantas has crashed. Once. A long time ago. In the 1950s. But don’t tell Rain Man, okay?
- We don’t all have koalas and kangaroos living in our backyards. (Some of them live in our front yards, as is my brother’s case)
- Real Aussies DON’T, repeat, DON’T drink Fosters. If you offer a Fosters to an Aussie, whether he’s a sexy businessman in a killer suit, a smoldering surfer with sun-bleached hair and a tan, or a dust-covered stockman (aka cowboy) after a hard day mustering sheep, he’s likely to laugh at you. And go get himself a Crown Larger. Or a Corona, with lime 🙂
So there you have it. Want to get to know one sexy Australian hero in particular? I’d love to introduce you to James Dyson, the hero of THE STUBBORN BILLIONAIRE. I promise, you won’t be disappointed.
THE STUBBORN BILLIONAIRE by Lexxie Couper
The Muse series
I’m going to ruin Sienna Roberts.
Ruthless? Maybe. But it’s what’s put me on top. And it’s what’s going to help me get revenge on the woman who put my family through hell.
My plan has been in play for months. She has no idea I’m the mysterious benefactor commissioning her artwork, or that the downfall in store for her will be the end of her career.
But there’s something I didn’t plan for—the way her smile and touch starts to make me forget all I blame her for…
Romance Contemporary [Entangled Indulgence, On Sale: January 23, 2017, e-Book, ISBN: 9781682813973 / eISBN: 9781633758568]
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About Lexxie Couper
Lexxie Couper is not a deviant. She just has a deviant’s imagination and a desire to entertain readers with her words. Add the two together and you get darkly erotic romances with a twist of horror, sci-fi and the paranormal!
When she’s not submerged in the worlds she creates, Lexxie’s life revolves around her family; a husband who thinks she’s insane, a pony-sized mutt who thinks he’s a lap-dog, and her daughters, who both utterly captured her heart and changed her life forever.
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